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The present invention relates to bath tubs, and in particular to soaker bath tubs, that use recirculated water to provide a deep basin of water and an aesthetically pleasing continuous overflow of water.
Basins of conventional bath tubs are typically shorter than average adults. An adult bather must therefore usually sit or lay within the basin with his or her knees bent and upper body leaning against the basin backrest. Conventional basins are typically so shallow that an adult bather""s upper torso is entirely above the water when bathing. The bather can reposition so that his or her upper torso is submerged, but then portions of the bather""s legs or side will be out of the water.
Soaker tubs have therefore been developed to allow a bather to submerse more of his or her body at one time during bathing. Such tubs can be similar in overall size and shape to conventional bath tubs, albeit with an extra deep basin. However, such tubs are still typically provided with an overflow outlet a few inches below the basin top. Even when using such tubs, for any given depth of basin, an unnecessary amount of the torso still projects out of the water during bathing.
Apart from soaking depth, there is also a desire to diversify the aesthetics of the bathing experience.
The present invention relates to bath tubs having a basin with a bottom wall and side walls extending to an upper rim. There is an overflow trough disposed radially outward around at least a majority (preferably 80%, 90% or even 100%) of a perimeter of the basin at one height for collecting water falling from the upper rim. There are also a conduit that provides fluid communication between the overflow trough and basin, and a pump associated with the conduit for delivering water from the trough to the basin via the conduit.
In preferred forms the upper rim of the basin is higher than an uppermost part of the overflow trough, and the bottom of the basin is formed with a seat area. There can also be adjustable leveling feet attached to an underside of the basin. Each leveling foot can have a mounting block attached to the underside of the basin and having a clearance opening therein. There can be a plate mounted to the mounting block and having a threaded bore there through in registration with the clearance opening of the mounting block. A heel can have a base from which extends a threaded rod sized to mate with the threaded bore so that the heel of the leveling foot can be moved vertically relative to the plate.
There can also be a drain control that operates a drain plug disposed in an opening in a bottom wall of the basin. The drain control is mounted to an inner side wall of the overflow trough, directly below a perimeter ledge of the basin (so as to be sheltered thereby). Preferably the pump can be operated at a speed below 2,000 revolutions per minute (so as to be extremely quiet).
There can also be a water level sensing system electrically coupled to the pump such that the pump will not operate if the water level within the basin is below a selected first level, or the water level in the overflow trough is below a selected second level. There can also be an aerator coupled to the conduit which can be selectively by-passed, the aerator being positioned at the suction side of the pump.
In yet another aspect the system can have a chromatherapy system for illuminating water within the basin with colored light. Preferably the chromatherapy system is polychromatic, has a spectral filter in the form of a rotatable color wheel, and will only illuminate the basin when the water within the basin couples a pair of basin sensors.
The present invention thus provides a more complete body soak for any given depth of basin (as no overflow protection is provided below the top of the basin), and that the system provides a continuous overflow of water from the basin while the bather is in the water. This provides a soothing and aesthetically pleasing effect.
Once the soaking tub has been initially filled to an operational level, no further water from a building supply is needed. Water collected by the surrounding overflow trough will be filtered, optionally heated, optionally aerated, and then recirculated back to the basin via a pump.
Important to the visual effect is the provision of adjustable leveling feet which insure an overflow over the complete 360 degrees of the upper basin rim. This helps hide the rim itself during operation. The bathing experience and visual perception is also enhanced by a chromatherapy system that can color the water within the basin with an array of soothing hues.
A water level sensing system (operated by touch-sensitive controls with lighted feedback indicators) prevents the pump from being operated at insufficient water levels and provides an auto-off feature for all electronic components.
The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In that description reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown by way of illustration preferred embodiments of the invention. These embodiments do not represent the full scope of the invention. Thus, the claims should be looked to in order to judge the full scope of the invention.